2019/03/13 by Allison Youngblood, Youngblood, Allison, France, Kevin +32
Engineering · Physics and Astronomy · #Astronomy and Astrophysical Research #Calibration and Measurement Techniques #Earth and Planetary Astrophysics (astro-ph.EP) #FOS: Physical sciences #Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.1903.05718
openalex publication_date 2019/03/13 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
The planetary effective surface temperature alone is insufficient to characterize exoplanet atmospheres and their stability or evolution. Considering the star-planet system as a whole is necessary, and a critical component of the system is the photoionizing stellar extreme ultraviolet emission (EUV; 100-912 Å). EUV photons drive atmospheric mass loss through thermal and nonthermal processes, and an accurate accounting of the EUV energy deposition in a planet's energy budget is essential, especially for terrestrial habitable zone planets and close-in gaseous planets. Direct EUV observations of exoplanet host stars would require a new, dedicated observatory. Archival observations from the EUVE satellite, models, and theory alone are insufficient to accurately characterize EUV spectra of the majority of exoplanet host stars, especially for low-mass stars.